


Baby, it's cold outside but at least we are stuck in here

by ghostiewriter101



Category: Outer Banks (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hallmark movie on crack tbh, a wee steamy moment, enjoy this lovely christmas cliche, i think, that's about it, this escalates pretty quickly at one point because it was getting long, we got angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28322610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostiewriter101/pseuds/ghostiewriter101
Summary: After eight years of travelling and work, Kiara Carrera finally returns to Outer Banks. But in desperate need for Christmas presents, she heads to the mainland. Unfortunately, the universe has other plans for Kiara and she soon finds herself trapped in a supermarket with a certain blonde who she hasn’t spoken to in years.
Relationships: JJ/Kiara (Outer Banks)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 49





	Baby, it's cold outside but at least we are stuck in here

**Author's Note:**

  * For [c_rissarose16](https://archiveofourown.org/users/c_rissarose16/gifts).



> Merry Christmas, Carissa! I hope you have a great day and I hope you like this even though you gave me the vaguest prompt ever to work with! I am grateful that I have got to know you over the past few months! And I can't wait to read more of your work in the months to come! Also it does escalates pretty quickly at one point cause the fic was getting long and I wanted to release this today and had to stop myself from making it like 15K so enjoy that and I hope it isn't to obvious!!

Kiara never thought her return to Outer Banks would be like this.

Then again, she wasn’t sure what she should have expected. She hadn’t stepped foot on the island since she was seventeen. Young, naive and told that she was being shipped off to boarding school. It was a memory that still haunted her. The screaming and yelling at her mother, the look on the pogues’ faces when she broke the news to them, the promises made to keep in touch. Those promises that would eventually break after a couple of months. They tried, but the distance bested them.

But she promised herself that she would return once she graduated, she wouldn’t give up on her pogues. Then, the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself in front of her, and Kiara couldn’t just throw it away. Next thing she knew she was travelling around the world, visiting different countries, opening people’s eyes to the problems their planet face and how they can save it from climate change. She was so wrapped up in her work that it hadn’t even hit her just how long she had been from home until she received a very emotionally distressed call from her mother demanding that she return for the holidays, demanding that she able to see her daughter after so many years.

Only then did the realisation hit Kiara that she was twenty-five. It had been eight years since she had last seen Outer Banks. It had been eight years since she had last seen a lot of things: her parents, the beaches, the fancy kook gala parties (not that she particularly missed them). But it had also been eight years since she had seen the pogues, it had been eight years since she last spoke to them.

_Fuck._

If Kiara was being honest, she wasn’t even sure she wanted to see them. It had been eight years, would they even want to see her face? The memory of the boys’ reaction when she returned from her kook years was enough for Kiara to assure herself that avoiding them would be the best option. If one year had done so much damage, what would eight do? There was that little voice in the back of her head that told her they were older now, much more mature. But this wasn’t just ‘oh, I forgot to send you a happy birthday text’. This was eight years of basically no contact. Kiara doubted they would easily forgive her.

So much to her mother’s delight, the second she stepped off the plane, she wanted nothing more than to head straight home. Her mother never asked any questions, but Kiara knew that Anna Carrera was probably over the moon that she didn’t want to even go near _The Cut_. Instead, they headed straight home where Kiara was smothered into a tight hug by her father and she practically hadn’t left since, with the exception of the odd walk around _Figure 8_ just to get some fresh hair. Thankfully, no one seemed too surprised or bothered by her arrival.

It was only when it reached Christmas Eve that Kiara hadn’t thought her plan through. With the last minute change of plans coming home for the holidays, she realised she actually hadn’t gotten her family anything (usually she would just ship things over from wherever she was). And considering every place in Outer Banks had been shut down until Boxing Day, Kiara had no other option that to head over to the mainland for some last-minute Christmas shopping.

So, she had spent majority of her day walking around the mainland boutiques getting bits-and-bobs before she headed over to the local _Publix_ , where she was hoping to scavenge the last of her Christmas presents. That was where she was now, trolley full of potential gifts and her eyebrows furrowed as she wondered if her aunt would prefer a special editions George Michael album or a fancy bottle of red wine…or both.

_“FIVE MINUTES UNTIL CLOSING TIME. CAN COSTUMERS PLEASE MAKE THEIR WAY TO ONE OF THE CASH REGISTERS LOCATED NEAR THE FRONT OF THE STORE, THANK YOU.”_

Kiara rolled her eyes as she placed both options into the cart and continued her way down the aisle. “Every fucking minute,” She muttered, heading towards the children’s toys aisle in hopes of finding something for her little cousins. “We get the point.”

You see, Kiara would consider herself a fairly straight-forward person, and quite an understanding one too. If she told you something, she means it honestly. She doesn’t have time to beat around the bush. So when she gets told she has five minutes left, she expects to have five minutes. It’s a simple concept really. But just when Kiara had hopes of everything going to plan, of course the universe had to come around and say _‘haha, you thought, bitch’_.

Kiara’s attention snapped away from the set of photo frames when the lights started to go off, aisle by aisle. “Shit, shit, shit.” She muttered, throwing whatever she could into the cart as she quickly rushed towards the exit of the store. The lights were switching off, one by one behind her, almost as though they were chasing her. But when she reached the end, all she was met with was empty cash registers and the automated gate just reaching the ground.

“No, no, no!” Kiara yelled, the cart pushed to the side as she rushed towards the gate, banging and yelling in hopes that someone will hear her. “Hello?! Anyone?!” Her fists slowly dropping to her side as she leaned her forehead against the cool metal, a sigh escaping her lips. She tries to do something nice and this is what she gets in return…just great.

“You do realise they are insulated as fuck, no one will be able to hear you.” A voice spoke up behind her.

A scream slipped Kiara’s lips as she quickly turned around, back pressed against the gate as she tried to find the source of the voice—but she was only met with darkness. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she patted her pockets for her phone, turning the flash on and shining it in front of her. Her eyes widened at the person in front of her.

“JJ?”

There was silence, she could almost feel the tension suffocating the both of them. Eight years of nothing leading up to this.

“Kiara?”

She wasn’t sure what hurt more: the use of her _actual_ name rather than Kie, or the bitter tone that laced his words. Most likely both.

“I—what are you doing here?!”

Her mind was flustered, confused, fuzzy. She had spent eight years having not spoken to him and now suddenly she was trapped in store with JJ—the boy who was most hurt after her kook year, the one that was as stubborn as she was and held onto grudges until he died. The boy that…was no longer a boy.

Her eyes wandered as she took in his presence. Fuck, had he changed since they were seventeen. Her memories of JJ were that he was always…better than the other boys on the island. Between the extra jobs he picked up here and there, and the surfing, and the knack for getting into scuffles with anyone he could—JJ had built up quite a bit of muscle. She even remembered the summer after their freshman year, when she first noticed that he had abs. It took her at least two weeks until she stopped blushing at the sight of him shirtless.

But now? She didn’t think it was possible that he could look… _this_ good. He had grown a couple of inches at least, and his face was much more chiselled and defined now. His shoulders were much broader, and his arms—god, his arms looked ever better now in that sleeveless tank of his than they did a couple of years ago. Guess somethings don’t change, she noted when she saw that his outfit was still fairly similar to what seventeen year old JJ would wear. The boy—or man—in front of her was just a buffer, older JJ from the one she knew. Yet, there was also a part of her that felt like he was a completely different person from what she remembered. Eight years can do that to people.

This was JJ Maybank. Not her JJ, but someone who had definitely grown up in the last eight years. Someone she didn’t know anymore. She didn’t know how she felt about it.

“I should be asking you that.” He deadpanned, and Kie tried not to cringe, she knew for a fact he wasn’t talking about the store—but rather here in general.

_Eight fucking years._

The words haunted her mind as she stared at him, trying to find the words she desperately wanted to say but couldn’t find. She tried to read his expression, get an idea of what was going through his head, but she couldn’t. She didn’t know what was going on in that pretty blond head of his.

“What are you doing here, Kiara?” He spoke up once again, seeing as she was just staring at him rather than giving him an answer. But she could feel the underlying judgment in his words, his real question.

_What are you doing back home?_

But Kiara was a coward, she went out of her way to avoid confrontation with anyone since she came back and now here was possibly the worst person she could be confronted by, standing in front of her with no escape plan available.

And like a coward, she took the loophole.

“I am doing some last minute Christmas shopping, JJ,” She stated with a shrug. “What else do you do at a store on Christmas Eve?”

JJ’s eyes narrowed slightly, as though he was taking in every small movement she made. Kiara found herself far more self-conscious in the way she was standing, and her breathing, and how many times she was blinking.

“Guess your mother finally dragged you back, huh?” He commented, as though he was attempting to have some banter between them. And it utterly confused Kiara. She was waiting for the cold, bitter words. The resentment. The JJ that she met when she returned from her kook year. Maybe he really did change in the last eight years.

“Thought it was about time.” She stated simply, watching as he glanced into her trolley that she had abandoned a few feet away.

“Family dinner?”

“The whole extended family and everything. Both sides and enough wine to get us to New Year’s.”

“You bring anyone home with you?”

That question caught Kiara off-guard.

“What?” She blurted out, her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. JJ turned to her, that _classic_ JJ smirk on his lips as he held up a box. She stared at it for a few seconds, not recognising it. It must’ve been one of the things she had thrown in her cart last minute. She looked closer, and then she realised what it was.

_A box of condoms._

“I mean either that or Grammie Carrera is in for a treat this holiday.”

Her cheeks burned red in embarrassment as she snatched the box from him and stashed it back in her cart, and if JJ noticed her blushing, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he just snickered and watched as Kie stood protectively in front of the trolley.

“What are you even doing here? You hate Christmas shopping. What happened to ‘my presence is your present’, huh?” She retaliated, anything to drive the conversation away from the last five minutes.

JJ didn’t say anything at first, the two of them just staring at each other. Maybe trying to find the versions of each other that they both knew and understood. Maybe Kie wasn’t the only one that felt uncomfortable with the change they experienced over eight years.

“I was getting something for my girlfriend.”

Kie froze. “Your what?”

“My girlfriend, Vanessa.” He stated more confidently. Kie stood there, mouth agape and lost for words. “There a problem?”

“No, no!” She quickly snapped out of it, ignoring the nauseous feeling that was tugging at her gut. “Just…you were never a relationship kind of guy…” She trailed off, but JJ picked up on what she meant.

“Yeah, well, people tend to change when you avoid them for eight years, Kiara.”

_Ouch._

Kie winced slightly at the bitter tone, and opened her mouth to say something. She wasn’t sure what, maybe an apology or an explanation or maybe even a snarky comment on the fact that he hadn’t bothered to reach out in those eight years either. But JJ cut her off.

“The gates are automated, probably quite basic security defences. We could open it from the controls on the inside.” JJ stated, staring at the gates before turning around and heading down one of the aisles. He paused and turned around, looking at her with raised eyebrows. “You comin’ or what?”

Kie snapped out of her thoughts once again and began following him down the aisles to the security office at the back of the store.

“So, what’s Vanessa like?” Kie asked casually as she leaned beside where JJ sat, scrolling through the computer in hopes of locating the system which controls the gates. There was an odd silence between them, one that felt deafening and Kie _desperately_ wanted to get rid of it.

Plus, there was that nosey part of her that wanted to know more, catch up on what she missed, try and understand JJ once again.

“Uh, she’s…cool.” He muttered, eyes focused on the screen whilst Kie looked at him unimpressed.

“How long have you guys been dating for?”

“Like…a couple…”

“A couple of what? Weeks? Months? Years?”

“Yeah, that one.”

Kie sighed, shaking her head and letting the silence fall between them once again. He was either far more focused on the task at hand than she assumed or he didn’t want to talk to her, or didn’t feel comfortable in doing so. For the sake of the guilt that was already consuming her from the inside, she went with the former—despite the fact it was a very un-JJ thing to do.

She let JJ do whatever he was, instead distracting herself with the variety of random posters that were pinned on the walls opposite hers. Her gaze caught upon one that was about the benefits of breastfeeding, and on any other day she would question why it was in a supermarket security office, but in that moment it made her realise something.

_Her mother._

Anna was probably yelling the house down right now, trying to figure out where her daughter has disappeared off to. Guilt bubbled inside her at the thought that her mother might assume that she has just up and left…again.

Looking away from the oddly placed breastfeeding poster, Kiara grabbed her phone from her jacket pocket, sighing in relief when she realised she had enough battery to _at least_ call her mum. However, as Kiara pressed the ‘call’ button, she was just met with an unpleasant static noise.

“What the fuck…” She muttered, glancing down at her phone in confusion. Last time Kiara checked, that wasn’t her mother’s usual dial tone and she hadn’t dropped her phone recently enough for it to suddenly start acting up now.

“You’re not gonna get anywhere with the phone.” JJ piped up, causing Kiara to snap her head around to look at him.

“And why is that?” She snarled defensively.

“Cause the cell towers are down…along with everything else.” He retaliated as he pointed to the screens, where the security cameras showed the carpark and entrances. It became very clear to Kiara that she was more fucked that she first assumed, because the screens in front of her were showing her a raging ice storm. Which meant if the cell towers were down then…

“Shit.”

Yup, there goes the power to. And she guessed there was no point on trying to get the lights back on.

She was stuck in a supermarket with a boy she hasn’t spoken to in eight years…what a _fucking_ Christmas present.

You know in Hallmark movies where the two main characters are bitter and constantly argue before the eventually fall in love and live happily ever after in their Christmas paradise? That’s what Kiara felt like.

Except instead of the main characters, it’s her and JJ.

And instead of intense arguments with high sexual tension, it’s just dead silence with some awkward chitchat.

And instead of falling in love, she just desired to have her best friend back.

Kiara never realised just how much she missed JJ and the other pogues until she was wandering around an abandoned supermarket with him, throwing any necessities into the cart between them. The last time they spoke was around twenty minutes ago when he agreed with her idea to make a small fort in one of the aisles where they could set camp and survive through the night in.

Kiara will be damned if she gives in like one of those stupid horror movies JJ made her watch when they were younger and allow them to separate in this massive, dark supermarket with no way of contacting each other. Although, the deafening silence wasn’t much better.

She snuck a glance at JJ, trying to persuade herself that the little jump in her heartbeat was just because she wasn’t used to how much…older JJ looked now. Like herself, he had one hand on the cart and the other holding a flashlight they managed to find in one of the aisles. Despite what he may think, this JJ had the same knacks—for example, the wee crinkle between his eyebrows told her that he was nowhere near as relaxed as he was acting, probably stressing out like her.

“We probably have enough supplies,” She finally spoke up, reaching to throw in a few more packets of batteries into the cart. “It’s not like we can’t get more any time we need to.” She added with an awkward laugh that died down in the tense atmosphere.

“We should head back.” That was his only response, they didn’t speak the whole walk back to their ‘base’.

Despite the lack of conversation between the two, they had come to the mutual decision to set up a HQ for as long as they were stuck in the store together. They chose an aisle between the ‘household’ sections and the ‘beers, wines and spirits’ section (JJ’s idea on that one). But it worked fairly well, they had plenty of blankets and cushions to make someplace comfortable to sit. Kie even snatched a few heaters from the ‘electronics’ aisle so they would stay warm, considering the ice storm had also wiped out the heating in the store. They were stocked up on snacks, water and other necessities. Theoretically, they were fully equipped to survive the night and possibly longer.

But the tension between the two of them remained.

It bothered her. Maybe because she knew he had every right to be pissed she had never returned to Outer Banks after eight years. Or maybe because she wanted to yell right back that he hadn’t bothered to contact her in those years. It could possibly also be the fact her mum was probably raging on to her aunts about how she was being the family disappointment this year by skiving the Christmas party…not as though it was the first time Anna Carrera would be bitching about her daughter’s actions to the extended family.

There was so much that bothered Kiara and so little on what she could do to solve it.

Life was a bitch like that.

So, she was forced to rely on old habits and tricks to get her through the biggest problem right now—aka JJ—and that was through the good, old joy of getting drunk instead of facing the issue head on. A lot may have changed in eight years but her fear of confrontation sure hadn’t, and she doubted JJ was any better.

With a case of beer clunking down on the floor next to her, she gave JJ a sheepish smile before offering him a can—he took it with no hesitation. They sat on the floor of their base, cushioned from the hard marble floor with a mattress topper and a few blankets, sitting across from each other on differing sides on the aisle. Kie sat with her legs crossed, whilst JJ’s legs were sprawled out in front of him. He still had the same combat boots she remembered him wearing years ago. It made her smile as she cracked open a can and took a sip.

At first, the silence remained. Awkward glances and avoidance of eye contact between the two continued until about half way through the second can of beer. Then, JJ finally spoke up.

“So…what’s it like being back?” He cleared his throat, voice a little harsh from the lack of speaking before this moment.

“It’s weird, for sure.” She answered honestly, fingers lightly tracing the rim of her can. “Everything is the same yet also so…different.”

“It’s Outer Banks, things can’t change too much.” JJ retaliated.

“You changed.” Kie replied with a shrug. She regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth, watching as he tensed up again. She thought he was going to go back to his silence again, that she had fucked up any chance of redeeming their friendship.

“You must’ve been doing something _pretty cool_ to keep you away from the OBX for so long,” He commented, but she could hear the sarcasm dripping with each word. All they spoke about when they were younger was how much they wanted to leave this place. “What kept Kiara Carrera so occupied that she couldn’t even send a postcard?”

She assumed that she would have to get used to the snarky comments, she was at least hoping the beer would help in some way.

“Work.”

He gave her a blank stare. “Really? Work? That’s all you’re giving me?”

“There isn’t much else to it, JJ.” She shrugged.

He looked at her, eyebrows furrowed together, that crinkle appearing once again. Lost in his thoughts, and Kiara was desperate to know what was going on in that mind of his. Yet, she was left in the dark. “Sure, okay.”

“What about you then, huh? What have you been doing?” She snipped back at him.

“I have been working my ass off, not everyone has kook trust funds to fall back on, Kie.” He replied, sarcastic smile on his lips as he took a long sip from his can.

Kie ground her teeth together, wanting nothing more than to tell him that she very much relied on her own hard work and perseverance and money over the past eight years. That the reason she hadn’t returned to the island sooner was because she had managed to keep contact with her parents limited over the years, not begging them for money or anything for that matter. She wanted to proudly state how far in her career she has come. But she guessed by that twinkle in his eye—that side of him that loved to wind people up—he already knew all of that. Or at least, he guessed as much.

“Where do you work?” She asked him, eyebrows raised in interest.

“Susie’s Garage, lead mechanic.” He stated simply. JJ was never the one to brag or boast, he grew up never knowing if what he had would be his for long. He would rather appreciate and cherish it by himself than show off and let it backfire on him later. But Kie could see it, the small pride in his words. The JJ she knew eight years ago would’ve dreamed at being able to keep a stable job, let alone having a position of authority in said job. It clearly meant a lot to him.

“You deserve it.” She said with a soft smile.

There was a pause, as though he was waiting for some snide comment to follow. But there was none.

“Thanks.” And he smiled back.

They stared at each other for a little longer. Kie couldn’t help herself, it was the first time since they got trapped that she didn’t feel so…awkward or tense with JJ. And those blue eyes could be…so captivating. It was only when she realised that staring for longer than thirty seconds was a bit dodgy, Kie had snapped out of it, focusing her attention on her beer can once again.

“So…how are the others?” She asked, her lips pressing together as she awaited his reaction. After seeing JJ and just how much he had changed, she wondered what the others were like now, how they were doing, what their lives were like now. She had obviously had the passing thought over the years, but now she was far more curious. Her only concern was that it took JJ two cans of beer and some snarky comments before he even remotely opened up about his life. And considering how protective he could be over the people he cared about, she wasn’t sure how easily he would talk about the other pogues.

“They…they’re great.” JJ spoke up, much to Kie’s surprise. And when she looked up at him, he was staring at some random spot on the blanket, looking a little distant as he spoke. But his smile was genuine. “Pope came back from medical school the other week and he has been raving non-stop about some dude he met. Can you imagine that? Pope being all gushy and emotional about someone? It’s so weird, the other day I caught him giggling at his phone. GIGGLING!”

She smiled wider when she heard his laugh. He was so much more relaxed and carefree when he spoke about the other pogues. He spoke like when they used to be friends. She didn’t want it to end, if she was being honest. She liked this, she liked this JJ.

“Sarah and John B are strong as ever. She finally moved in to that Chateau and you would not _believe_ your eyes if you saw it! It actually looks habitable now!” He snorted, running a hand through his hair. “I moved out though, third wheeling them was _way_ too sickening.” He admitted with a grin, he looked so much happier, glowing almost. “Well, I mean the third wheeling was one reason, but I guess the fact that they needed their own space was a big reason too. Especially with the baby coming and all—”

“SARAH’S PREGNANT?!”

JJ froze, finally snapping out of the happy, jolly daydream world he had lost himself in moments ago. Reality snapped in as he glanced at his surroundings. It scared him a little just how easily he slipped back into a world where he and Kie were still the best of friends, where talking to her was easy and simple and normal.

But when he looked over at her, seeing that bright smile on her face and the fact she was almost buzzing with excitement. JJ couldn’t bring himself to snap some passive aggressive comment at her.

“Yeah, she is.” He murmured with a small smile. “Only a couple of weeks, JB doesn’t know yet. She wants to surprise him for Christmas.”

“Holy shit…they are going to be parents.” Kie muttered to herself, shaking her head as she tried to process the information. It felt like a little slap to the face though, just emphasising how much she had missed in the last eight years, what she would’ve missed if she had avoided the pogues for the rest of her holiday here like she planned. She glanced over at JJ, who to her surprise was already looking at her. “Is that why you moved out the Chateau?”

He nodded, shrugging his shoulders a little. “They need their own space now. Neither of them said anything but…they are a family now, I don’t wanna impose on that.”

“You’re still a part of that family, JJ.”

_And so was she, once upon a time._

The silence lasped between the two of them once again, but it was different. It felt as though a weight had been lifted off their shoulders, ripped away the first layer of awkwardness. Now, it felt nostalgic. Kie could imagine them sitting in this exact silence, by the hammocks or even at the beach or the corner booth in _The Wreck_ they had claimed for years. It was comfortable, pleasant…familiar. For a second, Kie could’ve tricked herself into thinking nothing ever changed between them, that they were seventeen and close as ever and…happy.

“You don’t…” She trailed off, debating her words. As much as she enjoyed the silence, the question had been bugging her in the back of her head. She didn’t want to ruin the moment, but a part of her had to know—that same part that would always care for JJ and the other pogues.

“I don’t?”

“You haven’t gone back to your dad, have you?” She finally blurted out, looking at him with a slightly nervous look—that voice in the back of her head afraid he would say ‘yes’. “I mean, with moving out the Chateau and—”

“No, I haven’t.” He deadpanned, looking down. “Would be pretty hard to do since he has been dead four years.”

Kie froze.

You see, she had two thoughts running through her head right now. One: how did she not know earlier? Her mum loved gossip, practically lived off it whether it be kook or pogues drama. Any time Kie had spoken to her, she would blander on for ages on the recent local affairs. So surely the death of Luke Maybank should’ve _at least_ come up once in those conversations. Two: what the fuck could she say to him? Both of them knew that Luke was nowhere near being a saint, but he was still JJ’s dad, his last blood relative.

“I’m sorry.” She eventually whispered.

JJ shrugged. “Got him off my back so can’t really complain.”

Kie frowned a little. “He’s still your dad, JJ. You can mourn the loss of him, even if he was a shit person.”

“Yeah, well you are four years late with that advice, aren’t you?” He snapped at her, a wave of guilt washing over him when he saw how her face fell.

“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry.” She murmured, nodding her head.

The silence returned unwelcomingly.

“I think we forgot some stuff. I’ll be right back.” Kie spoke up, grabbing her flashlight without sparing JJ a second glance. But before he even had the chance to open his mouth, Kie had already disappeared down the aisle.

JJ hadn’t meant to snap at her, it just slipped out. They were stuck in this store for who knows how long, possibly until tomorrow afternoon. They had to work together to get through this. But JJ let his emotions get the better of him. Every time he looked at Kie all he could think about was how much she had changed, how she wasn’t the girl he once knew, how he desperately wanted to get to know this new Kie. Yet, every time he opened his mouth, he just sounded like a whiny teenager.

It felt like an awful repeat of her return from her kook year. JJ remembered how angry he was, how upset he was that she easily left them. But he eventually did forgive her, they talked through it and JJ never held it against her again. He knew he gave her a harsh time for it, but he was young and immature. He at least assumed that he had grown from that. Apparently not.

But he knew that he had to grow up a little if he wanted to get through this whole fiasco, if he wanted to possibly redeem whatever relationship he could have with Kie, even if that bitter, immature teen boy inside him wanted nothing more than to be rude and snarky and make her feel half the pain he felt when he realised he lost his best friend.

But JJ was older now, and wiser. He could push it behind him, at least for tonight.

When Kiara returned, he was a bit bummed out to see that she barely looked at him as she muttered something about Christmas lights, hanging them along the shelves of the aisle. It did make him smile a little.

He watched her closely, noticing the frequent glances to the watch on her wrist. He smiled sympathetically. “Hate to break it to you but I don’t think you’ll be making it in time for the party.” He joked lightly. Thankfully, she smiled back.

“I’m sure my mum will really appreciate the ‘sorry, I got locked in a supermarket’ excuse.” She added with a snort. “Probably bitching away to my dad now about how I’ve become a bigger disappointment.”

“She still that hard on you?” He asked, a little surprised. Turns out eight years can’t change everyone.

“Are we talking about the same Anna Carrera?” She answered rhetorically. “Please, she has been shoving potential grooms, wedding venues and dresses down my throat since my cousin got married _two_ years ago. Coming back home with no ring on my finger? I was bound to be an embarrassment anyways.” She shrugged. In her mother’s eyes, she was getting old, she needed to settle down soon. For Kie, she was just at the beginning of her life.

JJ looked at Kiara, eyebrows furrowed together. He cleared his throat, attempting to sound unbothered. “Well, surely she was glad that you brought someone back with you.”

Kie paused. “What?”

“If your mum is that desperate for you to be with someone, I guess she can’t be too picky on who you brought home—”

“What the fuck are you going on about? I never brought anyone home.” Kie cut him off.

This time it was JJ’s turn to frown. “What? But the box of—”

“That was an accident!”

“Well, you never denied it!”

Kie rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she stood up from her spot on the floor. “What does it matter anyways,” She muttered. “Shouldn’t you be like…wrapping up presents for your girlfriend or something? You’ve got the time now.”

JJ stood up, shaking his head. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“That!” JJ exclaimed, arms thrown in the air. “I feel like we are getting somewhere and then you start to close up again.”

Kie scoffed, arms crossed over her chest. “Wow, really rich coming from the guy who had been avoiding any conversation with me up until an hour ago.”

“That was different and you know it.”

“How?” Kie retaliated, looking at him expectedly. “You know what, I can’t be bothered with this.” She murmured, turning to walk away from the situation.

“No, Kiara! You don’t get to run away from this…from us…not again.”

Kiara stopped, but she didn’t turn around yet.

“You left me, Kiara! You were the one that left! Of course I am going to be fucking mad!” JJ yelled, tired of beating around the bush and ignoring what really needed—no, wanted to be said. “You lost your right to be mad when you left eight years ago.”

Kie turned to look at him, scoffing. “You never called either, JJ! Don’t start acting all innocent now. You never called or texted or wrote or anything.”

“You never came back.”

“And I was supposed to?”

“YES! Fuck’s sake, Kie…”

She froze. In their whole time since being stuck in the store, this was the first time he had actually used her nickname rather than her full name.

“The day you left for boarding school was one of the worst days of my life,” JJ admitted, taking small steps towards her as he spoke. “I thought it was just because you were the first to leave the island, that it would be harder to keep in contact. And it was. But…that was not the reason that day fucking sucked.”

“JJ…”

“No, Kie, I’m tired of pretending. I am tired of both of us just making up these excuses and avoiding it.” He whispered, pausing when he was right in front of her. “You left, Kie.”

“I didn’t think you’d want me back.” Kie couldn’t even stop the words leaving her mouth. JJ just seemed to have that allure on her. “I did come back…just after I graduated, I came back and I saw all of you and it just…” She trailed off, her eyes never once leaving his. “You guys seemed happy, dancing and drinking and you were content. I didn’t want to ruin that, I didn’t want a repeat of the kook year.”

“Were we not worth it?” JJ whispered. “Was I not worth it?”

She quickly shook her head. “Of course you were, Jay but…I was scared.”

JJ watched as she shook a little, her eyes now glossy from tears. “I hated you for so long.” He whispered. “I hated you because I loved you and you left. I hated you because you never came back. I want to hate you now too because even after eight _fucking_ years, you still have this control over me.”

Kie stayed quiet as JJ took that final step forward, cupping her cheeks in his hands. “But the truth is that I could never hate you, Kiara Carrera. For as long as I live I know that I could only love you.” He whispered, his lips ghosting hers. “It will always be you, Kie.”

“JJ, your girlfriend.” She whispered, her eyes fluttering shut.

JJ chuckled lightly. “There is no Vanessa. I just…you never denied the whole condom thing and I got jealous and—”

“You made up a fake girlfriend to make me jealous?”

“Yeah, basically.”

“Well, it worked.” And with that, she pulled him down and pressed her lips against his.

Eight years. Eight fucking years and never once did JJ doubt in his mind that Kiara would always be the one for him. Eight fucking years and never once did Kie ever forget him. That moment years ago, just when she left for boarding school, both of them were on the edge of saying something. But they didn’t and they suffered for eight years because of that mistake. But they were older now, wiser as well. And they would be damned if they avoid their feelings for much longer.

JJ’s lips slowly moved down as he pressed gentle kisses against her neck, skimming her skin, teasing her. Her hands ventured from his chest to eventually grip onto his hair, little gasps leaving her lips as JJ’s lips worked against her skin.

“You better not make me wait another eight years.” She murmured, gripping his hair so he would look up at her, and she could’ve sworn her knees buckled when she saw that smirk on his face—luckily, the arms wrapped around her waist prevented her from tumbling to the floor.

“Oh, baby, I want to hear your screams echo through this store.” And with that, Kie was pulling his lips back against hers, hands wandering between them as they desperately tugged at each other’s clothes. Somewhere along the line, JJ had managed to manoeuvre them to the blanket fort they had made, Kie laid beneath him with her hair sprawled out on the pillows, looking so fucking angelic that it took him a moment to snap out of his trance.

“Jay,” She whined as her hands reached to pull him back down to her, but he only smiled softly at her.

“I love you.” He whispered, enjoying the little shiver from his fingers lightly tracing up and down her torso, venturing lower and lower with every passing moment. “I love you so fucking much.”

“I love you too, Jay.” She whispered and leaned up, their lips locked together once again as she leaned back down on their makeshift bed, fingers interlocked in his hair, pulling him down with her. She gave a small test tug, smiling when he groaned against her lips. “Now, how about we find a good use for that box of condoms.”

JJ pulled away, looking at her in complete awe. “You are my dream girl, Kiara Carrera.” He muttered, his lips following his fingers’ journey down her body until he reached his desired destination. If he thought the small gasps were hot enough, the moans and whining that left her lips were even better.

Bodies pressed together, lips and hands learning each other’s skin, the words passed between the two echoing throughout the store as they finally gave in to eight years of ignorance, denied feelings and pining.

“You know, safe to say that fucking in a supermarket was not on my list.” JJ muttered, his chest heaving slightly as he glanced down at Kie on his chest. “But definitely something I am willing to do again.” The comment caused Kie to snort.

“You think there will be a next time?” She asked, eyebrows raised slightly.

“Anything to hear you scream my name like that again.” He muttered, rolling over slightly so he was leaning over her, small kisses pressed against her neck. However, Kie just giggled lightly and pushed him back, wiggling until she was comfortably cuddled against his side. JJ only grinned in response, gripping her thigh as she swung her leg over his waist before he brought the blanket over the two of them.

“You’re so fucking cocky.” She murmured against his skin. JJ had to suppress his shiver. “It’s hot.”

“I’m glad you think so.” He replied, one arm tucked behind his head whilst the other was wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her close as his fingers happily danced along her skin. “How pissed would your mum be if you ditched the holidays to hang out at the Chateau?”

“She would have my head on a stake, Jay.” She muttered, looking up at him with slightly narrowed eyes.

“Even if your devilishly handsome boyfriend requested it?” He added with a small smirk.

“Oh, you’re my boyfriend now?” She teased.

“You bet your wonderful ass I am, can’t get rid of me now, Carrera.”

“I could get used to that, Maybank.”

“So that’s a yes?” He asked hopefully, his grin widening when she nodded.

“I’ve got nothing else to lose.” She joked lightly, enjoying the laugh that left his lips.

Neither one of them were in any hurry to move, bodies intertwined beneath the blanket, happily as one. Eight years of separation and neither one seemed willing to give each other up any time soon. So maybe Kiara lied. This was kind of like a cheesy hallmark movie. Except, they were always in love—it just took a conveniently planned last minute shopping trip and an ice storm to actually get them to admit it.

“Wait, if you weren’t getting your ‘girlfriend’ a Christmas present, then what were you doing here?” Kie asked, propped up on her elbow so she was leaning over JJ slightly.

“Oh, well, uh…” He trailed off, and even in the lack of decent light being provided by the Christmas lights and flashlights, Kie noticed the blush on his cheeks. “I was craving those Christmas chocolate M&Ms things and there was no more back on the island in like _any_ of the stores—”

“So you came all the way to the mainland for chocolate?”

“Uh, well Christmas chocolate but yes.”

“You’re an idiot.” She muttered, leaning down to press a long kiss against his lips.

“Yeah, but now I’m your idiot.”

“Merry Christmas to me.”


End file.
